Gaming - Page 789

Just three weeks out from the launch of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Amazon has completely run out of stock for the title, players that wanted to pre-order may have lost the opportunity to do so.

We are not very far away at all from the epic release of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and for players that haven't already pre-ordered the title may not be able to until it is re-stocked. Looking towards the Amazon listing for both the stand-alone game and also the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Special Edition, we can see that they are both "currently unavailable" until further notice.

The fact that the stand-alone game as well as the special edition are both out of stock gives us a great indicator to how well Smash Ultimate will be selling once it is released. This is no doubt the most hyped Smash Bros. title since the franchises' beginning and with Amazon running out of stock three weeks before the games official launch we should expect Nintendo will be moving quite a lot of units within its first week. I will be sure to update you with a follow-up article if Amazon re-stocks between now and the games launch. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will launch on December 7th exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.

Blizzard North's early 2003 build of Diablo III could've led to a very different game.

Following the mass-market casualization of Diablo for mobile phones, I thought it pertinent to take a look back at the days when the series was that grim and bloody ARPG that defined a generation. The kinds of things Diablo fans expect and actually get are often quite different (Diablo Immortal, cough cough) and this back-and-forth goes as far back as Diablo III.

Diablo III is a great game...now. But when it launched in 2012 it alienated a lot of core fans. The bright colors and visuals were a big departure from the dark, grisly and macabre style of Diablos I and II. The mechanics hadn't changed much, but the core multiplayer was dramatically skimped--down from 8 players in DII to just 4 players--and there was no trading. The Real Money Auction House plagued gamers and created one of the most frustrating experiences I've ever had while gaming. But all of these things weren't originally in Diablo III; it once resembled its forebears quite closely.

Square Enix announces Shadowbringers, the new major expansion coming to Final Fantasy XIV.

Final Fantasy XIV has enjoyed long-running success thanks to its strong content rollouts and the team's incredible dedication to quality, and in 2019 the popular MMORPG is getting even bigger with a new expansion. Shadowbringers will offer a wealth of new content like a new playable race, new jobs, boosted level caps, and new crafting/battling/and gathering updates. We'll also see lots of tweaks across the board to keep gameplay mechanics fresh and unique.

As the name implies, Shadowbringers is a dark expansion. Players will actually become Warriors of Darkness this time around (quite interesting) and take on "threats to the world." Exact details are light and Square Enix won't reveal new info until Spring 2019 during the Paris- and Tokyo-based festivals. These events will be streamed on the FFXIV Twitch channel.

Veteran Gears of War dev Cliff Bleszinski appears to have sworn of game development for good and all.

In a recent Twitter post, Cliff Bleszinski (aka Cliffy B) says he's done with making games. The message comes in response to an angry fan who pressured the dev for refunds on Lawbreakers, the now-defunct online FPS that failed to gain traction.

"I paid my employees, their 401ks, and their health care - even months after the studio folded so they could care for their families. I didn't take a salary myself for two years," he said, explaining how the cash from Lawbreakers was used. "I get you're sad, but god, this kinda shit is another reason I am NEVER making another game."

Capcom's popular Devil May Cry series will be adapted into an animated TV series, likely for Netflix.

With Castlevania on Netflix, Adi Shankar has proven video games can be adapted properly into compelling and mature shows. The vampire-hunting series was done exceptionally well and holds true to the mythos, characters, and overall feel of Konami's legendary franchise. Now Shankar will work his magic on another beloved Japanese IP: Devil May Cry.

IGN reports Shankar has secured the rights for a Devil May Cry animated show, yet Capcom has been mum on the subject (Capcom has, however, is always open to mainstream adaptations of its products and is even making a Monster Hunter movie). There might be some crossovers between Castlevania and Devil May Cry as the two projects are now part of Shankar's "bootleg multiverse."

Sony has decided it won't be participating at E3 2019, hinting at a big showcase for its next-generation PlayStation system.

Sony and Microsoft are typically the main draws for E3; their announcements fuel the ever-bristling console wars and serve as venues for first-party and third-party games. But as E3 evolved from a industry-only event into one that welcomes everyday gamers, some major publishers have pulled out (EA, for example, does its own thing now). Sony now says it won't be attending E3 2019 so it can "innovate, experiment, and think differently" on how to showcase its products.

"As the industry evolves, Sony Interactive Entertainment continues to look for inventive opportunities to engage the community. PlayStation fans mean the world to us and we always want to innovate, think differently and experiment with new ways to delight gamers," Sony told Kotaku. "As a result, we have decided not to participate in E3 in 2019. We are exploring new and familiar ways to engage our community in 2019 and can't wait to share our plans with you."

Microsoft will release a digital-only Xbox One variant in 2019 ahead of its next-gen Xbox Scarlett console, reports indicate.

Thanks to the success of services like Game Pass, I originally predicted a digital-only, online-driven Xbox console could happen at some point. Shortly after reports indicated a disc-less Xbox was indeed in the works and would serve as a lower-cost entry point to the Xbox gaming and live service ecosystem. Now Thurrot.com's Brad Sams reports the console will launch sometime in 2019.

We originally thought the digital-based Xbox, which won't come with a drive to play disc-based games, was part of the new Xbox Scarlett family. But that's apparently not the case; the cheaper model is coming in 2019 whereas Microsoft's true-next gen system will launch in 2020.

The latest release from Polish video game developer CD Projekt RED has not me the companies expectations sales wise, Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales could be called a bit of a disappointment.

Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales is set in the universe of the famous Geralt of Rivia and is a single player role-playing experience. It challenges players through puzzles and card mechanics, but it appears all these things aren't want the masses of gamers want as the sales for the title have dwindled.

According to CEO of CD Projekt RED, Adam Kiciski, "The game appealed to the community, which drove up our expectations regarding sales. Unfortunately, as yet, these expectations have not been fulfilled. Still, we remain optimistic ... We expect to continue to sell Thronebreaker for many years to come, even though the initial period may not have lived up to our initial expectations." Due to the very slow sales numbers, CD Projekt RED decided to release the game onto Steam when it was originally planned for an exclusive release on GOG. For more information regarding Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales, visit the official Steam listing here.

There was rumors surrounding Sunset Overdrive arriving on PC and now it has been officially confirmed. Insomniac Games' crazy shooter will be arriving on PC on November 16th.

The announcement comes from the Sunset Overdrive Twitter account as well as Insomniac Games' official YouTube Channel. From the above trailer, we can get a great look at what the game has to offer players, we can see great customization for clothes and outfits, unique monsters to slay, a crazy amount of very cool looking weapons and much more.

It is still unclear whether Sunset Overdrive will be getting an enhancement patch, but we do know it will be arriving with all of its DLC's. Sunset Overdrive will be priced at $19.99 and will be available on November 16th. In the entirety of this post you will find a larger description on the game, for more information visit the official Sunset Overdrive website here.

There was some recent rumors floating around from dataminers that suggested that SMITE was going to be added to the Nintendo Switch library of games, it appears these rumors are true and we could see a Switch SMITE release on November 16th.

For those that don't know what SMITE is, SMITE is a multiplayer online battle arena that allows the player to experience the likes of being a God in the first person point of view. Just like other MOBA games such as League of Legends and DOTA 2, SMITE has a large vartiey of champions (Gods) and respective skins for them, there is also constant updates headed to the game and the additionally new God added every now and again.

The confirmation comes from Nintendo Everything as they claim that Nintendo will sell SMITE as a bundle "200 Gems, 400 Gems + Smite Founder's Pack." According to Nintendo Everything the SMITE listed is priced at 23.69 pounds which equates to $30 USD. We will be sure to update you once an official announcement has come from either SMITE developer Hi-Rez Studios or Nintendo themselves.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Pokemon: Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee could be the two titles Nintendo need to meet their 20 million unit sales margin for the Nintendo Switch.

At the start of the year Nintendo expected to sell 20 million Switch units over the course of 2018 and into the first quarter of 2019, ending on March 31st. For the company to reach their projected sales margin they will need to sell a whopping 14 million units over the course of the holidays, two massive franchise titles releasing could help them do it though.

Despite the massive unit figures ahead of Nintendo, Nintendo America President, Reggie Fils-Aime isn't phased by the task, "This year, we think that we're exceptionally well prepared for the holidays and truly have something for every type of gamer and every type of household" he has told The Verge. The two main titles that will assist the Nintendo Switch sales considerably are; Pokemon: Let's Go and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. According to Fils-Aime, "the pre-sale trends for both of these titles are tracking to the best we've ever seen on Nintendo Switch. The consumer engagement through all of our digital activity has been exceptionally strong."

1,000+ games have arrived on the Switch and Nintendo are celebrating the achievement with a brand new trailer showcasing some of the most popular titles on the handheld console.

The catalog of games the Nintendo Switch how grown quite extensively since its March release back in 2017. Now the handheld console offers gamers 1,000 different choices and some of the most popular titles for the Switch have been showcased in Nintendo's newest trailer.

We can see players enjoying the likes of; Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Pokemon Pikachu/Eevee, Splatoon 2, Diablo III: Eternal Collection, Fortnite, FIFA 19, Super Mario Party, Dark Souls Remastered, Nintendo Labo, GO Vacation, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and the Nintendo Switch Online service. It should be noted that Nintendo have specifically chosen each of these games to be showcased in different environments and in different ways, this gives a good representation to how versatile the Nintendo Switch is and how it can basically be used anywhere at anytime.

SCDKey is getting into the Black Friday spirit this year with some cheap codes for us to share with you, with discount codes on Windows 10 and Office through to the latest games like Battlefield V and Fallout 76.

As usual the site is offering Windows 10 Pro OEM for just $12.60 with our discount code, while Office 2016 and Office 2019 are both up for grabs at $31.50 and $45.07, respectively. Setting up a new PC can be done in a much cheaper way thanks to SCDKey, with an offer going above operating systems and software to PC and even Xbox One games and subscriptions. The software/OS discount code is SKTT10%.

It's not just PC gamers that can jump onto the gaming sales with SCDKey offering up Fallout 76 with an Xbox One digital code, and a 12-month Xbox Live Gold membership. Battlefield V is offered in an Origin CD key while Hitman 2 is offered through a Steam key. The additional 3% discount offered with the TweakTown and SCDKey deal is SKTT3%.

Playground Games highlights one of the most interesting benefits of being part of Microsoft Studios.

We've known Forza dev Playground Games is making a new IP for a while now. The game is an open-world action game, and sources say it's actually a new Fable project, and should be quite ambitious. Now Playground Games execs say Microsoft's recent acquisition of the studio was strongly affected by the new project and discuss what it means to be part of the first-party Xbox brand.

In a recent interview with EDGE Magazine, Playground founder Ralph Fulton shines light on an overlooked benefit of umbrella ownership: being able to easily communicate with other studios. It may not sound like a lot, but this is absolutely integral for growth in games development, especially since most of the work is iterative in nature and builds upon itself over time.

Patents indicate Nintendo will probably make a Nintendo 64 Classic Edition, but don't expect it any time soon.

Business for retro gaming is quite good. Nintendo has made millions off of its NES and SNES micro-consoles, and there's evidence an N64 mini will happen at some point. But when? Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime gives us an answer but it's not a good one. Essentially Fils-Aime hints the mini consoles could be overshadowed by Nintendo's recent Switch Online paid subscription service, and Nintendo could slowly drip-feed classic games on that platform more prominently than mass-market micro-systems.

When asked flat-out by Kotaku if an N64 Classic is coming, Fils-Aime said the system isn't in the immediate future. It's apparently not even on the horizon. "I would not ever rule something out, but what I can tell you is certainly that's not in our planning horizon," the Nintendo president said.

Telltale is preparing its funeral by finalizing its worldly affairs one step at a time.

The saga of Telltale's demise is a sad one underlined by mismanagement and the ruthlessness of the games industry. The tale is almost over, though: the company has just started a process called assignment where it will liquidate its assets in an aim to settle its debt with creditors. Publication GameDaily confirmed that Telltale's liquidation is on the horizon, and will be handled by a company called Sherwood Partners.

The article goes into great depth about Telltale's closure proceedings. The devs aren't actually filing for bankruptcy and will instead undergo a process called "assignment," which essentially closes the studio down while selling assets to pay off any outstanding debts. We have no idea who has bid or even bought Telltale's assets--or what these assets actually are besides engine tech, given the studio licensed all of its games. When this occurs, Telltale should be laid to rest for good and all.

After picking up more major IPs, THQ Nordic now has 35 unannounced projects in development.

In its third quarter earnings report, THQ Nordic delivered some interesting stats: out of the 55 games currently in development, 35 of them haven't been revealed yet. This poses an exciting and interesting prospect given the company's current IP pool, which includes Kingdoms of Amalur, Timesplitters, and countless others. This figure shows THQ has added yet another unannounced game to its slate--it had 34 mystery games in dev as of August 2018, and now it has 35. So maybe it's a new Timesplitters game? Yeah...we hope so.

"Our PR, marketing and sales teams across the globe did an extensive work supporting and building the demand for our pipeline of upcoming releases. Looking towards the upcoming two quarters, we are all excited about our key releases of Darksiders 3 and Metro Exodus. By the end of the quarter, we had 55 games under development, of which 35 are still in the pipeline waiting to be announced," the games-maker wrote in the report.

Development on Samus' new adventure is proceeding quite well and Nintendo already has an internal release target set for the game.

No one knows when exactly Metroid Prime 4 will launch on the Nintendo Switch. Originally announced at E3 2017, Nintendo has been coy about specific details and has kept things mostly under wraps. Although the game is listed as TBD under Nintendo's public future slate of titles, Nintendo President Reggie Fils-Aime says the company has overseen enough development progress to set a tentative internal launch window.

"Internally, we have expectations about when [Metroid Prime 4] is going to be released. We haven't announced it, but yeah, the game is well in development," Fils-Aime told Mashable.

Ubisoft has announced yet another free-to-play weekend for their strategic shooter Rainbow Six Siege. Players across all platforms will be able to join in on the action on November 15th.

Ubisoft has decided to make their shooter free-to-play for a weekend once again, the last month we saw Rainbow Six Siege go to free-to-play was on August 16th, with that weekend we also saw a 60% discount and it is the very same for this one. The developer has taken to their blog to post reminders about the benefits of participating in the free weekend. The post covers the basic, pre-loading of the game, playing with friends over the weekend, current purchasing options, progress and content availability.

In the entire post you will an image for each of the regions and the times the free weekend begins. The free weekend will be across all platforms; PlayStation 4, PC and Xbox One. For more information, please visit the official Ubisoft website here.

Nintendo of America President, Reggie Fils-Aime has commented on the coming launch of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, saying a December launch is tough and wished Ultimate launched earlier in the year.

In a recent interview with Kotaku, Fils-Aime discussed Nintendo's coming line-up for the end of 2018. The President expressed very strong hope towards coming Nintendo titles such as Pokemon: Let's Go Eevee & Pikachu and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. There would be a few things that Fils-Aime would change though if he was given the opportunity to do so, "Would I have loved to have seen, as an example, Smash Bros. launch earlier in the year? Certainly. An early December launch is challenging. It's challenging from a business perspective. It's challenging from a retailer perspective."

Fils-Aime continues and shines light towards the growth the Nintendo Switch is having, "But having said that, as I look at the pace of growth we've had, our ability to bring Fortnite to the system, our ability to have Diablo III on the system, Wolfenstein, you look at the third-party support which has been quite strong, when you look at the independent community support which has been quite strong, I believe when you and I reconnect in January and we look at our performance through the first 22 months of its life cycle, I believe we're going to be exceptionally proud of the result here in the U.S. of what Nintendo Switch has been able to do."